1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to rowing machines, and, more particularly, to such rowing machines with internal environments that duplicate actual Olympic-class rowing shells in terms of both dimensions and appearance, and simulate the specific rowing motion and technique that occurs on the water.
2. Description of Prior Art
The three most influential rowing machines over the past 40, or so, years were the “Gamut Erg” (“Gamut”) (no longer produced), “Gjessing Erg” (“Gjessing”) (no longer produced) and Concept 2 rowing machine. Numerous replicas of the Concept 2 exist, for example, the Waterrower line of rowing machines and the Tunturi line of rowing machines. Additional machines that have come on the market include the Rowperfect and the Coffey Sculling Machine (no longer produced) (as should be appreciated by those skilled in the art).
While some Gamut's are still in use, they are no longer in production. The Gamut is composed of heavy steel and is designed to simulate the sweeping action of an Olympic-class rowing shell. A steel flywheel dampened by an adjustable friction mechanism is used as a resistance mechanism. While the Gjessing was used more in Europe, it also is no longer in production. The Gjessing required the user to push and pull a handle connected to a long shaft, the end of which was attached to a cable. The cable wound around a winch of variable diameters that drove a flywheel arranged in a similar manner to that of the Gamut. The Gjessing improved upon the design of the Gamut by allowing the user to experience different degrees of leverage on the flywheel as the stroke progressed. This gave the user the feeling of acceleration experienced in the rowing shell. Unlike the Gamut which allowed the user to experience the arcing sweep motion of the oar handle, the Gjessing required the user to push and pull on a handle that moved fore and aft in a linear manner which allowed for a design that reduced the space requirements of the machine.
The Concept 2 Rower is the current “standard” within the rowing community. It improves upon the Gamut and Gjessing in that it offers users a more affordable, space-efficient and lightweight design. Like the Gjessing, the Concept 2 Rower requires the user to pull on a handle that moves fore and aft in one plane, however, the handle is directly connected to a flywheel via a chain and clutching sprocket mechanism. The flywheel is similar to that of a blower-wheel, the resistance of which is adjusted by varying the amount of air allowed to flow through the blower wheel. This allows for some acceleration to be felt as with the Gjessing, however, the flywheel configuration is much lighter and requires much less space.
All three of these machines, as well as all others mentioned above, incorporate a measurement system specific to each machine. While none of the machines have the capability to interconnect their resistance mechanism (though, the Rowperfect does allow flywheels of machines side-by-side to be directly connected), the Concept 2 Rower is able to be configured in a line such that each machine is required to move in unison with the rest via “slides.” Similar to the Rowperfect, this configuration tends to keep the center of gravity of each rower stationary as the components of the machine slide fore and aft under the user. The resistance mechanism of each rower, however, remains independent.
All of the above machines have strengths that range from more realistic rowing environments (Gamut and Coffey), to more realistic feeling resistance mechanisms (Gjessing), to connectivity (Concept 2 and Rowperfect), to space-efficiency (Concept 2 and Rowperfect) to more affordable design (Concept 2). However, none of the machines combine this functionality into one “package.”